During her visit to BSAC Korea , Kristina Pedder took the opportunity to visit a deep diving pool with some surreal attractions
BSACKOREA
When pool night goes deeper
During her visit to BSAC Korea , Kristina Pedder took the opportunity to visit a deep diving pool with some surreal attractions
Freediving lines and an ornamental baobab tree
The state-of-the-art dive pool at Deep Station , outside Yongsin , some 40km south of Seoul , opened last year after four years under construction . The deepest dive pool in Asia now welcomes up to 1,000 scuba and free divers a week . It is billed as the place your diving dreams can come true .
To make that happen , the on-site BSAC Korea Centre offers try dives , Ocean Diver training and dive sessions , 8am to 11pm , seven days a week . Scuba divers must book and dive in buddy pairs ; they must be certified to Ocean Diver equivalent , or dive with an instructor .
Underwater there is a 1.2m training area , a 2.3m free-diver dynamic training area and further depth zones of 5 , 10 , 16 , 23 and 36 metres . The overhead environment , called the Temple , can be used for flash photography practice , and the baobab tree acts as a datum down to 16m .
A three-hour scuba diving session costs 40,000 Won ( about £ 25 ) on weekdays and includes kit hire . In the 29 ° C water , the shorties provided are perfect . Mares BCs and regulators , and aluminum cylinders are to hand beside the pool , along with basic kit if required .
My buddy and I jumped into the 2m area , then descended via the 5m , 10m and 16m shelves to the full 36m ,
Find and follow Deep Station
LOCATION : 523 Seongsan-ro , Pogok-eup , Cheoin-gu , Yongin-si , Gyeonggi-do , South Korea
! www . deepstation . kr F deepstation . kr
sharing the water column with freedivers on static lines , closely shadowed by their photographers . Free diving is a growing sport in Korea , and the photo opportunities at Deep Station are a definite attraction .
We made our way to the shallows via the Temple , weaving through the openings in the walls to gently ascend and have some laughs chasing bubbles across the ceiling . After a minute or two of mandatory decompression on the trapeze , and a safety stop circling the tree , our time was up . It was all very serene and rather unreal .
The changing facilities on the third floor are first-class and we were soon relaxing on the rooftop terrace . Here divers can relax before and after dives , and groups were busy with breathing exercises . The Deep Station staff were fantastically helpful , friendly and fun . �
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